missile
//ˈmɪs.aɪl//
Forms
- Plural
- missiles
Definitions
1.Any object used as a weapon by being thrown or fired through the air, such as stone, arrow or bullet.
- The Rhodians, who used leaden bullets, were able to project their missiles twice as far as the Persian slingers, who used large stones.
- Riot officers and police on horseback were deployed to disperse the crowns, but they came under attack from bottles, fireworks and other missiles.
2.A self-propelled projectile whose trajectory can be adjusted after it is launched.
- That missile is explosive enough to kill hundreds.
Frequency
Overall
Uncommon· #2823
By learning goal
- Everyday conversation
- Rare
- General reading & writing
- Uncommon
- Academic
- Rare
- Literature
- Rare
Related words
Word family
Etymology
From Latin missile (“thrown weapon, projectile”), neuter of missilis (“throwable, capable of being thrown”), from mittere (“to send”).
From 1611.
Compare Middle French missile (“projectile”), from 1636.